Magharebia News reports that with less than a month remaining until legislative elections for Algeria's new lower chamber of parliament, excitement is growing within the nation's political parties. Under the seasoned leadership of Said Bouchair, the political election monitoring committee officially opened on 19 April, and the country's electoral machinery has now been set in motion.

The massive protests planned by the opposition over Nigeria's disputed elections have failed to materialise. They had hoped to use the trade unions' May day rallies to denounce what they see as election fraud but the rallies went ahead as usual.

The APT, an independent, non-governmental human rights organisation working worldwide for the prevention of torture, since 1977, is currently recruiting a UN & Legal Programme Officer. The deadline for applications is 31 May 2007.

Men of the state security services, on Monday 30 April at about 3pm raided the office of the Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE-Nigeria) at Jima Plaza, Garki, Abuja. The heavily armed men, who came in three Peugeot cars, two 206 and a Boxer Expert van, arrested the general secretary of the alliance, Emma Ezeazu.

Kenyans now have the opportunity to read for themselves what has transpired within the KPLC and in particular a picture of a procurement quagmire involving electricity poles on which the national grid is supported. A new report by the Mars Group Government Accountability Project (GAP) details the corruption involving the parastatal electricity company.

FEATURE: Hakim Adi examines the wider historical context of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Ken Banks on mobile phone technology for monitoring elections
- Kola Ibrahim argues that solutions to Nigeria's problems cannot be solved by the ballot box
- Adetokunbo Borishade calls for an African-centred curriculum in the new Liberia
LETTERS: responding to the article published last week: 'Slavery ain't dead – it's manufactured in Liberia's rubber'
BLOGGING AFRICA: Violence against women; power of the gun; hip hop and racism
BOOKS AND ARTS: Zimbabwe at 27: Echoing Silences by Alexander Kanengoni
AFRICAN UNION MONITOR: Interview with Joseph Yav on why there can be no continental union without peace and security

WOMEN AND GENDER: SOAWR Update on protocol on the rights of women in Africa
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Sudan, Chad sign reconciliation deal
HUMAN RIGHTS: New report on the world’s minorities
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: Housing for Burundi’s returnees
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: Touré wins Mali elections
AFRICA AND CHINA: African perspectives on China in Africa – book review
CORRUPTION: Transparency International releases country studies
DEVELOPMENT: Zimbabwe maize price goes up 680 per cent
HEALTH AND HIV/Aids: HIV positive people ignored in prevention campaigns
EDUCATION: The case against the IMF
LGBTI: The plight of rape survivors
ENVIRONMENT: Activists decry loan approval for Ugandan dam
LAND & LAND RIGHTS: Indigenous People of Africa speaks out
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Press freedom declined in Africa
NEWS FROM THE DIASPORA: Prison reform and the rule of law in Haiti
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: Taking information technology to rural schools in Kenya
PLUS: e-newsletters and mailings lists; fundraising and useful resources; courses, seminars and workshops and jobs

*Pambazuka News now has a Del.icio.us page, where you can view the various websites that we visit to keep our fingers on the pulse of Africa! Visit

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/302/Nigeria_41150.jpgKola Ibrahim argues that the solution to Nigeria’s hydra-headed socio-political problems lies not with the ballot box but rather with grassroots-led social and political movments from the urban and rural masses.

The contemporary histories of Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico, Greece and Ukraine have shown that it is independent political actions of the masses that can change the society.

The outcome of the Nigerian elections held in April 2007 have shown that the solution to Nigeria's hydra-headed socio-political problems can only be achieved if the mass of the working people of Nigeria take destiny into their hands and exercise political movement as a counterweight to bourgeois corrupt politics. Politicians cannot be relied upon to resolve the sufferings of the Nigerian working people.

To begin with, the clash within the rank of the ruling elite, especially that between president Obasanjo and his vice Atiku Abubakar, was never based on how to better the lot of the masses, who have been made to swallow the poisonous pills of neo-liberal capitalist economic policies over the past eight years.

In fact, instead, the cause of the rancour between the two is the question of succession. While Atiku claimed to have conceded power to Obasanjo in 2003 so as to regain it in 2007, the Obasanjo camp sees no reason why Atiku, who has served two terms in the presidency, should be 'criminalising’ Obasanjo for going for a third term in office.

The masses were presented with two sides of the same corrupt political arrangement and no genuine alternative. Both the president and his vice have acted together to implement the anti-poor, pro-rich policies of neo-liberalism. Atiku was the chairman of National Council on Privatization (NCP), which oversaw the privatisation of several government corporations and parastatals. Social service provisions were either commercialised or partly privatised. Meantime the masses were made the scapegoats of age-long corruption and mismanagement by the ruling elite via retrenchment, unemployment, unpaid entitlements, including pensions, and inflation.

The president demonstrated that if the nation he rules over could not manage its tertiary education, he could do better. The children of the poor masses who want a good education were told to either a pay Naira500,000 at Bells University's bursary or go to hell. At the same time, hundreds of acres of state farmlands were bought over by the president - or the Obasanjo Library. Followers boast of juicy packages which they try to protect as much as possible.

And whereas the so-called opposition wanted to present itself as an alternative, the past let them down. Nigerians forget the spree of retrenchment of the former AD southwest governments of the likes of Bola Tinubu in Lagos and Bisi Akande in Osun. All opposition groups bow before the almighty neo-liberal economic pills as advocated multilateral agencies of imperialist capitalism – IMF, World Bank and WTO.

Political action could not take into cognisance the plight of the poor people. In an absence of genuine alternatives, the best it could do was to use people's plight to justify their quest for power. This explains why none of them could give reasons for supporting or participating in policies that have deprived the majority. Even Obasanjo has conceded that all those who antagonise his ‘reforms’ could not provide alternatives because they all stand for the same policies.

This situation is underlined in a letter Atiku Abubakar wrote to Obasanjo in early 2006. He stated his intention to run for the presidency and praised Obasanjo for his economic reforms: retrenchment, denied entitlements, decrepit social services, looting via privatization. He promised to continue the same policies.

Neither Atiku nor the so-called opposition have suggested any alternative to neo-liberalism and market economies, rejected by the working people. Ruling class politics of survival of the fittest substitutes for radical political actions of the masses; and the masses taking the political road is feared.

Of course any concession to allow the masses to take independent political action through formation of a working people's party would lead to the diversion of the resources of the country to pro-poor policies: free education, health care, adequate salaries and pension, secure job opportunities and better infrastructures. As these could only be achieved by the stopping corruption and privatisation of national wealth, they would spell doom for corrupt ambitions.

Therefore, the ruling politicians and their estranged counterparts in the so-called opposition - which some elements of the media has wrongly tagged progressives - continue their ruinous politics. These same estranged politicians participated actively in the electoral fraud of 1999 and 2003. Many of them played major roles during the dark days of military absolutism. For instance, Obasanjo was the first head of state to plunge Nigeria to the abyss of debt and economic dislocation. Atiku was head of customs and excise, which was fraught with corruption. The masses, meanwhile, are cajoled with such hollow terms as the rule of law and respect of electoral wishes. But to expect these individuals to genuinely involve working peoples in the political process is an illusion.

The election outcome clearly indicates the futility of relying on any section of the ruling class for a political breakthrough for the people of Nigeria. While the estranged ruling class tried to use mass pressure to force the main ruling PDP party to concede to some of their demands, the ruling class maximised the constitutional flaws and illegitimate rights to authority through for example control of the INEC, the armed forces and part of the judiciary to ensure they did not lose power. Although the majority of voters were disenfranchised by the political machine of the ruling PDP through rigging and violence, the estranged opposition could not mobilise the masses to come and vote.

It is foolhardy for anyone claiming to be from a left-wing background to believe that any political gain can come by the people attaching themselves to the estranged section of the ruling class without undertaking independent, democratic, mass-based and radical political activities.

Many so-called civil society organisations - many of which derive their grants from the imperialist agencies in the West on the basis of maintaining the status quo - continue to be lethargic; instead of seeking to build a political platform of the working people of Nigeria that will seek to dismantle the stranglehold of the capitalist ruling class on our economic and political lives.

It is important to draw out lessons from last week’s farcical general election for the working masses.

First, given the present constitutional and political arrangements, the corrupt capitalist ruling class will continue to recycle itself in power, irrespective of mass opposition.

Secondly, confining the masses within a neoliberal economic framework will continue to deprive the masses of the political will to undertake independent political action.

Thirdly, in order to breakthrough this quagmire, the masses must build a fighting political alternative that is economically and politically different from corrupt opposition politics, and democratically organised from the grassroots to the national level.

Fourthly, it is erroneous for the leaders of working class organisations to believe that by confining themselves to so-called civil or legal means, that they can assume political control. Only by taking to the streets, along with other mass political actions, can they force the ruling class to abdicate power. And political alternatives must be linked to the daily struggles of the masses for democratic rights, including the right to free and fair elections.

For these reasons, mass organisations and their leaders must reject last week’s nonsensical general elections. They must immediately call for the reconstitution of the electoral body, a re-run of all elections, and convocation of a Sovereign National Conference. This should draw its membership democratically from mass organisations: trade unions, market men and women associations, student movements, civil societies and ethnic nationalities, which shall reconstitute the political and economic agenda of the country.

And this must not mean supporting other corrupt politicians. Rather it is a step towards building a mass struggle that will culminate in the reconstitution of the country in favour of the working masses.

Civil society organisations and social movements must come together and call the people to the street to take their destiny in their own hands. They must convoke a general summit of all pro-working peoples organisations, to be spear-headed by the trade unions, with the aim of forming a working people's party that will serve the interest of the masses.

I propose a week of political protests around the country to include mass processions, leafleting, rallies and mass meetings as soon as possible. The masses must fight for a democratic socialist Nigeria, where the resources of the country are used not in the interests of the already rich few, but in the welfare interests of the masses.

* Kola Ibrahim is a student activist from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, email: [email][email protected]

* Please send comments to [email protected]

Transparency International (TI) has published nine detailed country studies that analyse the implementation of anti-corruption laws in Algeria, Burundi, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, and Uganda.The studies found that the nine countries have legal gaps with respect to requirements established by the international anti-corruption instruments most relevant for the region: the UN Convention against Corruption (2003) and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and Related Offences (2003).

The Progressio Development Worker (DW) will work alongside the TALOWADAG Coalition as a HIV/Aids development advisor supporting both its staff and the partner organisations that make up the network to strengthen their support and care to people affected and infected with HIV/Aids by providing community-based care support.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/authors/adetokunbo-borishade.jpgAdetoku… Borishade calls for an African centered curriculum in the new Liberia that is inclusive of gender and ethnic diversity.

It amazes me that the more things seem to change, the more they remain the same.

African educational systems appear to be the only ones on the planet that do not teach their students in accordance with Africa's own cultural values and perspectives.

At a time when Liberia’s education system is staggering under the burden of physical reconstruction, this topic might appear insignificant. The ministry of education is stretched thin doing all it can to recover.

However, there are some things so serious and fundamental to Liberia’s future progress that they need to be undertaken slowly, thoughtfully, deliberately and collaboratively.

I believe that one of those considerations is the development of an African culture-based curriculum that includes, values, and supports the diverse range of potentialities presented by females and people from the 16 or more indigenous ethnic groups in Liberia.

This is not a popular subject because as Africans we believe that we are the only people in the world who do not have a history, belief and philosophical system worthy of study or even discussion.

Therefore, I understand that discussing it openly creates animosity. However, there are some things that are so important that they need to be said anyway. My commentary aims to get people thinking, talking.

Talk about things remaining the same. As far back in Liberian history as 1881, Edward Wilmot Blyden, who was at that time President of Liberia College, laid out an educational programmme for the Africa-centred instruction of Liberian students and for youth throughout the African continent.

Over the course of his lifetime, 126 years ago, Dr Blyden spoke, wrote, and preached that the elements of genuine and permanent progress in Liberia and the rest of Africa are found in teaching African students about the true history and culture of African people and the contributions Africans have made to world civilisations.

As one of the original fathers of pan-Africanism, he dearly wanted to live long enough to see positive change in the slavish thinking and situation of Africans worldwide. This is the man who inspired generations of continental and diaspora Africans, including Marcus, W.E.B. DuBois and Kwame Nkrumah.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/302/41130b.jpgIn 1989, the late Dr Mary A.B. Sherman reminded us of the dialectical relationship that exists between education and the society it serves. This message was the focus of her keynote address at the 21st Annual Conference of the Liberian Studies Association in 1989. Dr. Sherman eloquently pointed out the evolutionary and synergistic processes involved with educating a society:

'Education originates from that society, contributes to changing it and is, in turn, changed by the society.'

Liberia’s beloved educator went on to reflect on the three forces that shaped education in Liberia:

'The emigrant ethnicity, the influence of Christian missions, and the intersection of values.'

Dr. Sherman’s reference to education as an agent of social change strongly implies that one role of education is to keep in step with a constantly changing world by preparing students to meet new challenges and to develop new visions and expectations.

Dr Elwood Dunn (2006) recently spoke of Liberia as being 'heavy with history' that 'cannot be wished away'. Dr Dunn suggests that we study the historical dynamics of the founding of Liberia in the 19th century:

'Africa and Africans were abased and debased. Those touched with a bit of European culture were considered charged with elevating the culture-less Africans.'

Dr Dunn set forth three critical questions focused on: national identity; national purpose; and national mind-set or culture.

Inspired by the ideas and words of the three scholars cited in this article, I propose four suggestions.

First, Liberia’s educational system needs to get in step with the ever-changing world academically, socially, culturally, and philosophically.

Second, Liberia’s educational system desperately needs to cease perpetuating notions of African inferiority.

Third, Liberia needs to develop a curriculum that includes and values females as well as the contributions Africans have made to this world for hundreds of thousands of years. There is no reason why, in this enlightened age, Liberians are taught to value and valorise everyone else besides themselves.

My fourth and final suggestion is that these three building blocks combined just might form a cornerstone of Liberia’s substantive renewal, out of which can develop a national identity, national purpose, and national cultural pride.

'Momie may have, Daddie may have,
But God loves the child that has his own.'
- African American proverb

Now it is time for Liberia to begin catching up and getting in step with international changes that are 21st century realities. We need to pay attention to the educational systems in other so-called developing countries that are making great strides at national independence.

Some Asian countries, for example, direct their students’ education to serve the interests and needs of the nation.

As a result, those countries are increasingly able to control their natural resources because they have mathematicians, chemists, engineers, and technical experts skilled in applied science, mining, manufacturing, and building industries.

Those countries are harnessing the power that still resides within the core of their people’s ancient cultural ideals and philosophical doctrines to stride forward.

We need to take a sharp look into the statement made by Kim Il Sung, President of North Korea, when he claimed that they were able to quickly jump ahead in their nuclear missile technology program by using 'indigenous knowledge'.

My question is why is Liberia not developing and harnessing the tremendous sources of power and indigenous knowledge that reside within the Liberian people, instead of paying out scarce resources for foreign knowledge that does not fit African culture and environment?

'If you are not bought at home,
You will not be sold in the market.'
- Liberian proverb

Up until now, Liberian educational and social realities consist of alien cultural values and notions of African inferiority that are taught to students, who in turn teach it to their children and grandchildren.

It all began in 1822 when repatriated Africans from America arrived in Liberia. According to Dr. Sherman (1989), the repatriated Africans were imbued with the idea that they were on a 'Christianizing-civilizing mission'.

They were led to believe that they were returning to Africa 'to spread the light of the gospel and of civilization' to the 'heathenish' Africans in Liberia.

Sherman relates how, during the early nineteenth century, the Christian missions isolated the indigenous Liberian children from their parents for the purpose of instruction lest they become 'corrupted'. Indigenous Liberians fought to preserve their culture and societies by placing their young ones into Poro and Sande Societies.

Despite these efforts, the ruling class in Liberia perpetuated discriminatory practices against Liberian masses based upon a misguided, false notion of superiority since they were mixed with non-African blood and/or had contact with Western culture. But I would like to know: if Liberians believe they are inferior, by virtue of their Africanity, how can this possibly gain respect from other nations?

'Lion rules the forest
Because Lion babies are taught it is their birthright.'
- African proverb

It is unimaginable that in the 21st century Liberia’s educational system does not teach even one class in Africana or Liberian studies. Nor does it value the cultural and social experiences of its indigenous populations.

Liberian students are not taught anything about their own civilisations, culture, and history. But they know all about everyone else’s.

Liberians are not taught that Africans walked this earth for tens of thousands of years when there was no one else but them.

They are not taught that Africans are the parents of all humanity and that Africa is the cradle of all world civilisations.

Nor are they taught that African people have made more contributions to world civilisations than any other group of people on this earth.

The Liberian curriculum does not include the historical activities and cultural contributions of its people prior to European and American contact.

These are facts that are validated and documented even by many of the greatest European scientists. Learning this information is a birthright, not just some useless privilege.

The people of other cultures know more about Africans than Africans know about themselves.

African history books in Liberia and elsewhere begin with the coming of Europeans. I would like to know: if Liberians teach their students that their Africanity makes them so inferior; that there is nothing about themselves worthy of study, then how can they be expected to rule an independent nation once they grow into adulthood?

'The house of the King,
Once burnt, is more glorious.'
- Nigerian proverb

When something precious is destroyed and rebuilt, the beauty of the new version always surpasses the first. Dr Sherman’s words are more significant now than they were in 1989:

'A clear understanding of Liberia’s place in the international economy, definition of national purpose, and reformulation of the goals of education would be a good starting point as we look to the 1990s. Unless we confront the realities growing out of our past, we can not have clear directions for the future.'

The sharp questions posed by Liberia’s beloved educator are more applicable today than when she spoke them eighteen years ago.

'What is the new international order that we would like to see? How will Liberia fit into it? How can she reduce the external dominance –economic, cultural, and psychological – which impinge on her? How can her hidden potential be released? Can we create a new society, new individuals? Are there indigenous values we would need to preserve and foster to promote these ends?"

I conclude by pointing out that Edward Blyden’s words continue to echo through the annals of time, calling for us to create positive psychological, cultural and social change in the midst of world events that are speeding ahead while we lag behind.

But just as we choose to fall behind, we can also choose to surge forward. Just as we are knowledgeable of the problems, we are also knowledgeable of the solutions. All it takes is the courage to make the right decisions.

We need African minds creating African solutions to African problems within the parameters of African culture. If we are serious we will make the necessary changes now that will ensure a glorious future for the new Liberia.

Blyden, Edward W. (1881). The Aims and Methods of a Liberal Education for Africans.

Dunn, D. Elwood (2006). 'Liberia and New Beginnings', The Perspective, Atlanta: Georgia, September.

Sherman, M. Antoinette Brown (1989). 'Perspectives on Education in Liberia'. Unpublished manuscript. Ithaca-New York: Cornell University.

* Adetokunbo K. Borishade is based at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
Contact: [email][email protected]

* Please send comments to [email protected]

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/authors/ken_banks.jpgKen Banks, founder of kiwanja.net, explains the idea and history behind FrontlineSMS – a technology that was used by an organisation, Human Emancipation Lead Project (HELP) to monitor the Nigerian elections.

An idea is born
The FrontlineSMS concept came rather suddenly a couple of years ago during one rainy Saturday evening in Cambridge, UK, a long way away from the country that inspired it. The idea now seems like an incredibly simple and obvious one, but it took its time to dawn on me.

A few months earlier, in the autumn of 2004, I was working in South Africa and Mozambique with a South African NGO, Resource Africa, on a contract with the oldest international conservation organisation in the world – Fauna & Flora International.

We were looking at ways national parks could better communicate with local communities – something which has traditionally been rather problematic – and the project I was working on at the time had a specific technology angle.

I was already working on another mobile phone project. With SMS usage just beginning its astronomical climb, it seemed like an obvious tool to consider. Things were beginning to happen back in 2004, but it was early days in the mobile revolution, particularly in developing countries. So, as a starting point in the solutions evaluation process, local companies were asked to put in tenders to help develop a service, and existing services were trialled and tested.

There were two specific issues which, several months later, became central in the thinking behind FrontlineSMS.

Firstly, everything we were looking at was web-based. This was fine for a parks authority, and fine for this particular project. But I’m always looking for ease of replication and scale, and I didn’t see the perfect solution as being a purely web-based one.

Secondly, everything we were looking at was one-way – top down if you like – and I had trouble with this. The parks could send stuff down to the community, but the community voice was silent. After a short period of research and evaluation, a trial was started with a web-based service. For me these two external issues remained unresolved.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/302/41128b.jpgFrontlineSMS, which finally addressed these shortfalls was launched in 2005. It was the first text messaging system to be conceived, designed and written firmly with the needs of the non-profit sector in mind.

Up until then, the majority of systems did not take into account the nature of non-profit work, nor the specific conditions – financial and physical – which many work under. Since the non-profit sector isn’t considered fertile ground for most for-profit companies, this wasn’t surprising. The software was picked up by a number of news sites, and trials began. Most were small-scale grassroots initiatives, however, and little news got out to the wider community.

But then came the Nigerian elections…

In African election terms, it doesn’t get much bigger than the Nigerian elections. Two months ago, back in February 2007, I was contacted by the Human Emancipation Lead Project (HELP) Foundation, a Nigerian group interested in establishing a team of volunteer election monitors to report on their forthcoming presidential elections.

HELP are a non-profit group of young professionals in Nigeria, advocating for social change through good governance. Their goal is to encourage the Nigerian electorate to participate in the electoral process. Since 2005, HELP has been in the forefront of employing available mass communication technologies in their work.

According to the group, the 2007 elections presented a 'vital opportunity to truly change the cause of things for good for the common Nigerian by ensuring that a transparent and acceptable general election is conducted'. With the proliferation of mobile technology in Nigeria, the group chose SMS as their communications medium.

Their initial search for a software and hardware solution led them to a series of mobile guides published by MobileActive, a global network of people, tools, projects and resources focused on the use of mobile phones for activism, campaigns, and civic engagement.

One of the guides specifically deals with elections and voting, and FrontlineSMS was featured in the guide as a tool worth considering. Two months before the presidential elections were due to be held, HELP contacted me and asked for kiwanja.net’s help.

As with many organisations looking to use text messaging for the first time, they were confused over issues of available solutions, short codes, licenses to operate, costs, applicability and ease of adoption. As an organisation with little or no budget, all of my services were offered for free. I still need to work on that business model!

HELP installed FrontlineSMS onto a single machine, obtained a phone and a new SIM and began their tests. There were local elections planned in the weeks leading up to the presidential elections, and they were to be used as a dry run. During the testing process I was in occasional contact with their team, but I generally left them to it. FrontlineSMS is designed to be a simple, works-out-of-the-box solution and require little or no support. Other than a couple of emails and the odd call at 3 o’clock in the morning, HELP managed to take the software and run with it with little help. The local government election monitoring was a success. The main event now loomed.

Next was the launch of a website – – where HELP promoted their work under their 'Network of Mobile Election Monitors of Nigeria' (NMEM) banner. The site’s primary purpose was to encourage the general public to register as volunteers, and tell them how they could engage in the process. Individuals registered their mobiles by texting their name, location and polling station to the new NMEM election monitoring hub. Each volunteer was then registered on the FrontlineSMS system.

On election day itself the volunteers were asked to send in two reports – the first to contain details of when the polling station opened, voter accreditation and the ballot box delivery times. The second was due when the polls closed and was to contain information on the result, counting processes, turnout and general conduct. Things were slowly falling into place.

Up until now, I was generally oblivious as to how things were going in Nigeria – I was just quietly getting on with my other work at Stanford. The first news I received that things had gone so well was an email which landed in my inbox around midday on Tuesday 17 April, which came with an accompanying press release. HELP were now ready to monitor the main election, and it was just four days away. The press release was for immediate circulation, so I put on my PR hat and started shooting mails off to my various friends, contacts and acquaintances in the social mobile world. One wrote for the BBC.

On the Thursday morning I woke to find that I’d missed seven calls on my UK mobile. On checking my email, I realised that the calls were from the BBC World Service. I also had an email from one of the BBC website technology editors. After some frantic conversations, I provided them with contact details for the Nigerian team. I could answer the BBC’s technical questions, but the real story was NMEM’s and I was keen for them to have the chance to profile their work themselves.

For the rest of the day I watched as more and more sites picked up on the story, hoping that the BBC would manage to make contact. Friday was the last chance – once the weekend passed it would no longer be a story. Perhaps, more importantly, if the BBC did manage to get the story out then suddenly there was much greater potential to recruit infinitely more volunteers.

I got up at 6am on the Friday morning – 2pm in the UK – in case the BBC had mailed and needed any final information. I needn’t have bothered – the story was already up.

The next time I spoke to HELP was on the Saturday, just after the polls closed. Despite general disquiet about the overall election process, they were very happy at the response to their call for volunteer monitors.

What’s more, FrontlineSMS worked exactly as they hoped. A result all round – after all, this hadn’t been attempted in Nigeria before - and was maybe a first in Africa?

HELP are now working through their data which will be presented to EU monitors and other monitoring groups. Sadly, in this particular case, problems with the electoral process are already well documented.

In their initial report, released a few days after the polls closed, NMEM commented:

'As has been highlighted by both local and international observers, the elections in Nigeria leave little to be desired.'

However, amidst the widespread report of fraud and rigging there were pockets of hope. In communities like Ibiono Ibom in Akwa Ibom State, 80 per cent of the SMS received indicated calm, orderliness and a free and fair exercise.

The same was indicated in reports from Kano GRA in Kano State, and Ward 3 & 4 in Calabar Municipality of Cross River State, among others. We believe that these communities should be identified and commended as an encouragement to others to imbibe fair play and transparency in subsequent elections.

It should be noted that most international observers were trained and equipped to spot and report in places where things did not go as they should. They were further sent to major urban areas where most of the heavy rigging took place.

Our observers, on the other hand, were instructed to report on everything, both the good and the bad. As a result, we documented many remote, rural communities where polls were orderly, materials arrived on time and polls were relatively free and fair.

In total, over 11,000 messages were received from the volunteer monitors, a great response.

NMEM are now looking at how SMS can be used to engage Nigerians in the everyday political process.

For its part, FrontlineSMS was just a tool in the process. It doesn’t do anything on its own, but it does empower. It was NMEM who had the mission, NMEM who had the passion and NMEM who had the commitment to drive their vision forward. NMEM also found FrontlineSMS, and they took the software and ran with it. Anyone else can do the same.

Kiwanja.net believes that all non-profits, whatever their size and wherever they operate, should be given the opportunity to implement the latest technologies in their work, and actively seeks to provide the tools to enable them to do so.

* Ken Banks is founder of kiwanja.net.

www.kiwanja.net
www.frontlinesms.kiwanja.net

* Please send comments to [email protected]

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/302/blogs_crytonchikoko.gif
Malawian blogger writes that Malawi is 'going through a period of change' one of which is the increase in 'clean' uranium production.

'Just to put you in the picture. Currently, Malawi produces 275 megawatts of hydro-powered electricity every year. However from next year we will be producing up to 3.3 million pounds of uranium oxide every year. Converted into electricity production, 3.3 million pounds of uranium is enough to produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity each year. This is projected to earn the country about 200 million U.S. dollars every year for the mining life span! This is unprecedented for our country. I can't stop thinking of what we could do with electricity generated from the uranium...a stop to the constant power cuts, a huge surge of power into our manufacturing industry, what about a good electricity powered transportation system (don't stop me dreaming) may be thus a possibility?'

So what's the catch? The benefits of the mining goes to the multinationals who have exclusive rights over the Kayalekera mines; questions about the environmental cost of the mining uranium? will the electricity generated reach the Malawian people? What if any will be the impact on unemployment and for the few that do manage to get jobs – how will their salaries relate to the profits of the mining companies and to the salaries of expatriates employed by the MNC.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/302/blogs_grandioseparlour.gif… blogger, Grandiose Parlor comments on a post by Dare Obasanjo's blog (son of President) on the occasion of his father's 70th birthday. GP takes particular offence over a photograph and the word 'servant' - the caption reads:

'One of the servants sitting down on the bed of his one room apartment. You can see the entire apartment in this shot.'

All but one of the comments support GP's position on the use of the word 'servant' except for one commenter who writes:

'Oh come on. You guys are too far removed from the realities in Nigeria. In Nigeria its all in a days job for a grown man to receive a slap from the madam. Who amongst you have not used the label “house boy” in the past.'

Well I for one have never used that expression – we were brought up to be respectful to those employed by our parents and not to expect them to work for us as children. The comment is a reflection of the whole lack of respect for people and an acceptance that the status quo is fixed in stone. With that kind of attitude it is no wonder we continue to have such useless and corrupt leadership and a dismissal human rights record in areas such as child labour and child abuse.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/302/blogs_entrepreneur.gifCame… blogger, The Entrepreneur considers the debate around the proposed African Union Government or Union of African States. Two meetings will be held, one in May and one in July to discuss the proposal.

'The purpose of the two exercises is to undertake in-depth discussions on the nature of the continent’s integration agenda in order to determine where we are, where we are going, when and how to get there. The need for such an exercise at this point in time, arose from a proposal considered by the Assembly at its 4th ordinary session in Abuja in January, 2005, on the creation of certain ministerial portfolios for the African Union. The Assembly accepted that the proposal was pertinent and forward looking and also in line with the vision of the African Union. It therefore, decided to set up a Committee of seven Heads of State under President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda to examine the proposal in all its ramifications.'

For further information on the Union debate see Pambazuka News and the African Union Monitor (accessed from Pambazuka's website)

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Sub-Saharan African Roundtable publishes a disturbing piece on 'Congo's forgotten women'. Women who were taken to Uganda from the Congo by Ugandan armed forces and then left to fend for themselves.

'In 2001, after a disastrous misadventure in the Congo, Ugandan troops trekked back home with a cargo of hundreds of Congolese women they had “married” while fighting in that country. Most of them ended up in northern Uganda where their men had been hastily taken to continue the seemingly endless fight against the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army. But it wasn’t long before the rosy picture the Congolese women had of Uganda turned rough. They were quickly abandoned by their “husbands” who, unknown to most of them, had wives back home. Without anywhere to stay, many turned to prostitution; others joined the nearly two million internally displaced people in northern Uganda, existing in cramped and dingy camps.'

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/302/blogs_southerncameroon.gifSouthern Cameroons Interim Goverment-in-Exile is a blog dedicated to the liberation of Southern Cameroons – their mission statement reads:

'The Southern Cameroons Interim Government-in-Exile (IG) is dedicated to the liberation of the people of the Southern Cameroons from the brutal colonial control of France masquerading as La Republique du Cameroun. After more than a century of colonization and the failure of Great Britain and the United Nations (UN) to perform their sacred duty and obligation of guiding the people of the Southern Cameroon to “self-government and/or independence," the IG is resolved to return to Southern Cameroonians their humanity and their God given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'

In 2003 the group filed a complainant with the Africa Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights against the Republic of Cameroon for violating the rights of hundreds of citizens of Southern Cameroon. The aim of the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC) and Southern Cameroon Peoples Organisation (SCAPO) is independence from the Republic of Cameroon by peaceful means.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/302/blogs_vaw.gifViolence Against Women: Do Something is a blog created by Ethiopian blogger Concoction to specifically highlight the global violence against women and to encourage everyone to 'do something' to end the violence. In this latest post she reports that the progress made by VAW activists is being hampered by President Bush's lack of commitment to act on the issue.

'If the Office on Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice, then...critics fear the administration would eliminate or de-emphasize certain anti-violence programs and add funding for new, untested programs. That, in turn, could deny victims access to what advocates say is a "well-rounded" menu of programs that was carefully considered by Congress and signed into law by the president.”... The other issue is funding problem. The Bush administration has not funded some programs at all while severely under fund others.'

Although this post is US specific, VAW is a global issue. One of the barriers to stopping VAW lies with those of us who have been victims of violence – we all need to speak out and testify to our own experiences and that of others we know. Another is families and communities that remain silent even when the violence is staring at them in the face. We all must try to speak out and shame those that commit acts of violence against women and children.

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New Nigerian blogger, Funmi Iyanda's Blog posts on an interview she had with Nigerian actress, Shan George who spoke about the marital violence she experienced.

'At 15 she was married off to a much older man on the promise that he'll educate her. 2 children, six years and many beatings later and the promise of education looked like a mirage. At each beating, she runs to her mother, her only relative who sternly orders her back to her husband and who informs her that if she leaves the marriage she had no home with her.'

In an act of great courage at the age of 21, Shan walks out on the man even though she has no where to go and ends up on the streets of Lagos until she is helped by another woman who takes her into her home. Sounds like a Nollywood movie but this is real life fact. A great post.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/302/blogs_olawunmi.gifSilent Storms in an ocean of one gets the feeling of power from holding a shotgun – ok he was clay pigeon shooting. Personally I cant see the attraction but I guess it is fairly harmless. At least he wasn't out shooting birds or animals. But then he goes on to analyse his own feelings around holding a gun and the potential of using it as a weapon of power- fortunately not a feeling he is at all comfortable with.

'...because i am still struggling to understand the Virginia Tech tragedy, I wanted to take a few moments to appreciate what holding that gun in my hands felt like. there was a sense of power, reinforced by the kick in my right shoulder as the rifle spit flames; it was a feeling which became a light-headed thrill as each clay-disc disc shattered before my eyes, each hit punctuated by the excited cheering of my friends. .in a flash i understood the attraction that guns have for some people. its a feeling of power, something close to omnipotence. that steel tube feeds the bearer with an assurance that he can exert some control over his own destiny - that i can defend myself and my family if needs be, ensuring that nothing is taken from us without the usurper paying some sort of price. its not even necessarily an aggressive assurance, it could be more passive than that, but its strength nonetheless. the second amendment makes sense when that firearm is within reach, it just does...I was also aware of the menace, the sense that the gun could so easily be used as an instrument of oppression was there. that power that made me feel at ease could also be the tool with which a malevolent nature manifested itself on the world around it. if a man wanted, he could get people to submit, and that is power indeed - just wave the gun and bark a few instructions, and you're the almighty. at least until a more determined person turned up.'

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Black Looks comments on the Imus 'nappy headed ho' incident and the overall trend of blaming it all on “hip hop”. Kameelah writes:

'...first, the language of mainstream hip hop cannot be excused under any circumstances. but, this is really a question of diverting attention from imus to hip-hop culture. imus acts as if he is a 8 year old child who heard a bad word in the school yard and innocently repeated it and as such should carry no responsibility. everyone responds and jumps on the bandwagon on blame hip hop and imus in chilling in the background laughing at critics black and white alike who have completely moved the center and have allowed him to blend into the background as just another victim of the hypnotizing trance of hip hop and its predatory tentacles. let’s play history correctly and remind ourselves that the images of black women did not ORIGINATE within hip hop, rather these images originated in scientific discourse and white racism hundreds of years ago and are often punctuated by the capturing and carnavalizing of difference and inferiority most notably with sara baartman (otherwise known as the hottentot venus). as william jelani cobb says.'

Ordinary Kenyans have not felt a significant impact from the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process, a new report has found. The report, commissioned by the Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) and OSI’s Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP), calls on the government to deliver a programme of action that will increase democratic space for Kenyans.

Kenya’s APRM review focused heavily on the delivery of services, according to the report, but did not tackle the more challenging task of institutional reform that is vital for Kenya’s democratic transition.

'It is not enough to just ask Kenyans what they want from their government and then say we have completed the APRM process',said Binaifer Nowrojee, OSIEA director. 'The work is not done until the government responds to these concerns. That is what democracy is about.'

Set up by the African Union, the APRM process is intended to give citizens a greater voice on how the country is governed and thereby foster democratic participation in Africa. Kenya conducted its APRM process from February 2004 to March 2006.

The report: 'The APRM Process in Kenya: A Pathway to a New State?' provides the leading independent analysis of Kenya’s experience. It is a valuable resource not only for Kenyans, but also for other African countries about to undergo the APRM review.

The report commends the Kenya government for being one of the first African countries to open itself to critical examination of its governance and human rights record. To date, the government has done well in complying with its reporting obligations to the APRM Forum. The report recognises the strong support from the minister of planning and the wide consultation around the country that succeeded in giving ordinary Kenyans some voice to their demands for change.

The report also highlights some key concerns that emerged. The APRM national steering committee, set up in December 2005, is dominated by government representatives and was appointed in a non-consultative manner. Since then, key stake holders have found themselves left out of the preparation for the progress report. The disproportionate role played by state actors in conducting this process is resulting in weak engagement of the civil society sector.

OSIEA/AfriMAP call for the APRM report to be made more accessible, including through simplified language-appropriate versions for local communities; the creation of participatory tools such as citizens’ report cards to measure government performance; and the expansion of the process beyond the executive branch to include other state structures, such as parliament, and non-state organisations.

'Kenyans need to organize to push the government to deliver on its promises – We need to ensure that the APRM really does bring greater accountability to Africa', said Ozias Tungwarara, AfriMAP director.

African states have pledged a growing number of commitments to promote democratic principles and good governance since the African Union was formed in 2002. One of these mechanisms is the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) that contains the APRM for governments to conduct a self-assessment report through a participatory process. The APRM covers four areas: political governance and democracy, economic governance and management, corporate governance, and socio-economic governance.

French and English versions of the report are available at or www.osiea.org

For further information, please contact Mugambi Kiai, Program Officer, OSIEA/AfriMAP on + 254-720-439622 or mkiai at osiea.org

Congo's largest opposition party allied to ex-warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba said on Wednesday its deputies were returning to parliament after walking out this month to demand government guarantees for their safety. Bemba, the defeated contender in last year's elections won by President Joseph Kabila, left Democratic Republic of Congo on April 11 for medical treatment in Portugal following the rout of his militiamen by government troops in fighting in Kinshasa.

The number of people working in extreme poverty in Africa would increase by 20 percent by 2015, Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said at the opening of the 11th regional meeting in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. "Most of the work in Africa is of a near-subsistence nature, with more than eight out of 10 workers in the informal economy [operating] with low pay, low productivity and low protection," said Somavia.

The Nigerian electoral commission has declared the candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Umaru Yar’Adua, as the winner of the weekend’s controversial Presidential polls. The 56-year-old Governor of northern sate of Katsina, polled 70 percent of the votes. The former Nigerian military ruler, Muhammadu Buhari, and the Vice President Atiku Abubakar ranked second and third respectively.

South Africa has designed a package to lure 35,000 foreign skilled professionals in the coming year to fill the vacuum of skill labour in the country. South African Home Affairs Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has disclosed that there are 34,825 quota work permits available in 53 occupations where career professionals are needed.

Al-Jazeera reports that Nigeria's political opposition is preparing for mass protests against flawed elections that gave the ruling party a landslide win.Rights groups called the vote that saw Umaru Yar'Adua of the People's Democratic party (PDP) declared president-elect a "charade", asking for the result to be cancelled and new elections to be held.

FEATURE: Ayesha Kajee – the political underbelly of Darfur
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:-
- Robtel Pailey on Firestone plantation slavery
- Dikpak Naker on what's wrong with beating children
LETTERS: Congratulations on the 300th edition of Pambazuka News from contributors and readers
BLOGGING AFRICA: A round up of the African blogosphere
BOOKS AND ARTS: Review of South African Women in History by Sokari Ekine
AFRICAN UNION MONITOR: Interview with Roselynn Musa and commentary on African civil society

PAN-AFRICAN POSTCARD: Tajudeen asks what next after the Nigerian elections
WOMEN AND GENDER: Text message saves Burkinabe girl from forced marriage
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Government troops battle insurgents in Somalia
HUMAN RIGHTS: Zim activists denied bail
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: Consultation on HIV and IDPs starts
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: Woman candidate for Mali poll
AFRICA AND CHINA: China feels pressure after attacks
DEVELOPMENT: Africa does not need more western philanthropy
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: HIV puts malaria back in spotlight
EDUCATION: Manual for non-formal education in Tanzania
LGBTI: Media accused of libel and irresponsibility
ENVIRONMENT: Africa’s first wind park in Namibia
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Obasanjo 'ignores' FoI bill
NEWS FROM THE DIASPORA: In defence of the new diasporas and brain mobility
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: Setting the digital pace in Nairobi’s suburbs
PLUS: e-Newsletters and Mailings Lists; Fundraising and Useful Resources; Courses, Seminars and Workshops and Jobs

*Pambazuka News now has a Del.icio.us page, where you can view the various websites that we visit to keep our fingers on the pulse of Africa! Visit

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/301/blogs_liquidplastic.gif Tanzanian blogger, Nasra Al Adawi who has been working with breast cancer survivors in Southern Africa posts an interview with “An Everyday Heroine” Rebecca Musi from Soweto, Johannesburg.

“When Rebecca was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of forty-nine, her mother became ill at the same time. “I never got a chance to tell her as I did not want to upset her”, said Rebecca. “This was just before I started my treatment, so I suspended treatment and looked after her.” Ironically her mother died four months later. She was ninety-five years old.

Today, Rebecca Musi is a breast cancer survivor, and she travels around the world supporting other breast cancer survivors. She works for Breast Health Foundation (BHF) in Johannesburg. She is also a participant in the Avon Foundation initiatives for cancer awareness. Avon has launched a campaign called the “Global Connection Ribbon Tour”. This tour links survivors from one country to another.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/301/blogs_dibussi.gifScribbles from a Den comments on the first round of the French elections in which right wing candidate, Nicholas Sarkozy is ahead with 31% of the vote. In the Cinq estates around Paris there was an incredible 80%+ turn out of voters against Sarkozy. Sarkozy is not good for the non-white population of France as Dubussi writes…

“Sarkozy's own pronouncements about minority groups are provocative to say the least. Any French president whose right-wing policies promise the perpetual maltreatment of a section of the population, should be rejected. He cannot be a president that unites the present deeply fragmented society.
Ségolène must win this decisive second ballot. She needs only appeal to the centrist voters of François Bayrou to give her about 43.57% over Sarkozy and his racist votes from the Nationalists of 41.75%. If she could manage to mop up the votes of the undecided voter, she will emerge the winner.

France needs a political ideology which favours social responsibility. There is a culture of contempt from the immigrant population due to the institutionalized discrimination that continuously keep them out of the concours of national issues. The only way individuals could become responsible would be by giving them the power to control their own lives, by a widespread socialist agenda. This means jobs and social integration. That is what their so-called NATIONAL IDENTITY IS, a gateway to economic revolution”

One good thing is that the far right party of Le Pen has been completely ignored but that could be partly because of the centre right choice of Sarkozy rather than a rejection of the far right itself knowing that Sarkozy has a far better chance of winning that Le Pen ever would.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/301/blogs_addax.gifAddax reports on the attack on Spanish patrol boats in the waters just off the coast of Mauritania by prospective immigrants to spain.
“African would-be immigrants travelling to Spain by boat attacked a Spanish police vessel with petrol bombs, preventing the officers on board from detaining them, the daily El Pais reported Tuesday.

"The boat was taking 57 migrants from Mauritania in West Africa to the Canary Islands, when a Spanish patrol boat based in Mauritania attempted to intercept it.The immigrants hurled petrol bombs and other objects at the vessel and tried to puncture a rubber dinghy which was sent to accost it.”

Some months ago the Senegalese government agreed to allow the Spanish navy coastal guard to patrol Senegalese waters in the hope of stemming the flow of immigrants to Spain and Europe but clearly the boats are still managing to get through and people are finding different routes by sea and by land to reach Europe such is the desperation for a better life and the ability to support families back home.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/301/blogs_dramatikpsychology.g…Thoughts from Southern Nigeria reports from Southern Nigeria on last weekends Nigerian elections.

“For this reporter and other journalists who went round the state on the Election Day, it was war that was fought on that day and not an election. The trip was without hitches from the INEC office in Warri South local government, where people thronged the office as early as 8.30 am, creating an atmosphere of insecurity for officials of the Commission. Between 9.00 am and 9.30 am, voting materials had not left the office but some people alleged that the ballot papers had been thumb-printed the night before. It was difficult to confirm the allegation but the same chaotic situation prevailed as we passed through Effurun, Enerhen and Ovwian-Aladja areas. According to reports, voting materials came later in the day but while some voted, others could not. ..At the Uvwie local government secretariat, some people were already spitting fire, threatening to go on rampage, as at 10.00 am, saying that there was no voting, but as it was later learnt, the INEC encountered some logistic problems earlier in the day, and so materials could not be distributed as scheduled in some areas. However, as far as the groups of protesters, mainly DPP members were concerned, there was no logistic problem; it was a calculated design by the PDP and their collaborators in INEC. There were pockets of demonstrations and bonfires everywhere, forcing the state government to slam a curfew on the local government.......The situation was not different same at Otu-Jeremi in Ughelli South local government, where a presiding officer told Sunday Vanguard that the voting materials were hijacked earlier in the day by thugs but another source said the INEC officials were working out the distribution arrangement in the office and that voting would commence after the distribution.”

In many parts of the Niger Delta especially in Bayelsa and Rivers State, voting did not take place at all. Polling booths were closed and even the few that did open had a very low turn out of voters.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/301/blogs_ethiopundit.gifEthiopundit explains how “How Meles, Museveni, the Donors Group, the IMF, the World Bank, and even North Korea, all got together to create The Greater East Africa Co-Prosperity Sphere”

“In a dictatorship, however, getting along with the natives means getting along with the government, however nasty and brutish it may be. Getting along with the government in the guise of the people then takes on a life of its own and become is own justification. We are not talking about appreciating foreign cultures here or respecting other ways of life.

What we are talking about is convincing oneself to appreciate foreign dictatorships and to respect the ways of dictators because without some measure of approval by the regime there is always the threat of expulsion, rejection of projects or paperwork and bad reviews from one’s superiors back in Washington or Brussels or any media HQ etc. Occasionally when it happens, rebellious ferenjis can feel justifiably brave and good but ultimately for national or international or N.G.O. bureaucrats or reporters it is not a realistic agenda to follow.

Not getting along with the native thugs is career suicide and even institutional suicide because whoever is paying for it all wants something or the appearance of something in exchange for all those dollars, euros and yen. Part of that approval has to come from the native thugs who might not get with the program if their own despotic interests are threatened - no matter what harm comes to the people themselves.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/301/blogs_laila.gifMoroccan literary blogger, Laila Lalami comments on the racialisation and Islamisation of the Virginia Tech massacre.

“The focus on the murderer's background was not restricted to his nationality; there was also the religious angle. The New York Post quickly speculated that the words "Ismail Ax," which were scrawled on the gunman's arm, were a reference to the Qur'anic account of Abraham's sacrifice of Ismail, or possibly also to Abraham's destruction of pagan idols, also in the Qur'anic tradition. The fact that the document sent by Cho to NBC contained such bizarre claims as "Thanks to you I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenseless people" did not seem to merit the kind of religious exegesis that the New York Post was so keen on doing earlier in the week. People look for intrinsic reasons for Cho's acts, when the simpler explanation--to the extent that such a horrendous act can ever be explained--is that Cho was a mentally ill young man, who should never have had access to guns.”

Whilst I agree with Laila on the racialisation of the act, I do believe it is too easy to dismiss the murders as simply an act of a “mentally ill young man”. Surely there must have been something that drove this young man to madness? Could it have been racism? Bullying? Exclusion that his classmates because he was “un-cool”, different? It is important to ask these questions and find answers rather than simply say he was a coward and mad.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/301/blogs_gukira.gif[email protected]